This invention relates to a tennis like game that can be played at the beach or on loose granular surfaces.
Tennis like games of the type wherein a ball is passed back and forth over a net generally demand that the ball bounce at least once on the surface of the court. These types of games typically cannot be played on sandy or loose granular surfaces which do not permit the ball to rebound upon or striking the court surface. Furthermore, it is difficult to erect and anchor the net in a taut condition on these type of surfaces. Guide wires and stakes are sometimes used to anchor the net, however, these devices pose a hazard to players and others who might fall or become entangled therewith.
Youngberg, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,163,456 describes a paddle ball game suitable for use on a beach. The game employs a relatively small and thus easily portable wooden court that has correspondingly small nets secured thereto. The players stand behind their respective sides of the court and attempt to bounce the ball back and forth without hitting one of the nets. Due to the relatively small size of the net, a great deal of skill is required to play the game and accordingly, the game is not attractive to a large segment of the general public.
Gierla, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,088,317 discloses a tennis like game wherein the net and the court boundaries can be retracted into the net post by means of mechanical reels for storage. Although the game is portable and can be conveniently stored away when not in use, it can only be played on relatively hard surfaces from which a ball can easily rebound. Furthermore, the moving parts of the retracting mechanism will become fouled with sand and grit if the game were used at a beach or the like.